Swift, deadly epidemic kills all the black sea urchins in Gulf of Eilat, posing threat to Eilat's coral reef
A series of new, disturbing studies from Tel Aviv University reveals a deadly epidemic causing mass mortality of black sea urchins in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Eilat. The entire population of black sea urchins ...
The researchers emphasize that sea urchins in general, and the long-spined Diadema setosum in particular, are considered key species essential for the healthy functioning of the coral reef. The researchers caution, "It must be understood that the threat to coral reefs is already at an all-time peak, and now a previously unknown variable has been added. This situation is unprecedented in the entire documented history of the Gulf of Eilat."
The researchers assume that the source of the deadly epidemic is a pathogenic ciliate parasite that has spread from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. An urgent report describing the current situation was submitted to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and emergency steps for protecting Israel's coral reefs are now under consideration.
The studies were led by Dr. Omri Bronstein and Ph.D. students Rotem Zirler, Lisa-Maria Schmidt, Gal Eviatar, and Lachan Roth from the School of Zoology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The papers were published in Frontiers in Marine Science and Royal Society Open Science.
Fish feeding on a dying D. setosum urchin in the Mediterranean Sea. Credit: Tel Aviv University